Starting apparatus for vapor electric lamps.



' PATENTED SEPT. 12,1905

, c; 'J. GOLEMANQ STARTING APPARATUS FOR VAPOR ELBGTRIG LAMPS.

APPLICATION FILED ITBB. 7. 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLYDE J. COLEMAN, OF ROCKAWAY, N EW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR HALF TO SIDNEY ARONSTEIN, OF NEW YORK, N.

or one STARTING APPARATUS FOR VAPOR ELECTRIC LAMPS." 1

To all whom it 'nuty concern:

Be it known that I, GLY E'J. COLEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rockaway, in the county of Morris and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inv Starting Apparatus for Vapor Electric Lamps, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

Myinvention relates to starting apparatus for vapor electric lamps, and has for its ob jects simplicity of construction, economy in construction and operation, and reliability and effectiveness of operation.

My invention includes the provision of jetprojecting means located within the sealed tube or casing wherein the light is produced by the incandescence of the vaporized illumi nant combined with eXteriorly-located electrically-controlled power-developing means and with auxiliary power-developing means and controlling means therefor, so that when the lighting-circuit of the lamp is established the energization of the power means will be discontinued, but the energization of the auxiliary power means will be continued, and more specifically my invention includes the provision of eXteriorly-located coils of low and high resistance controlling interior projecting means and controlling means for denergizing the low-resistance coils by the establishment of the lighting-circuit.

My invention also includes deflecting means for the illuminant cooperative with starting means for projecting the illuminant.

Other advantageous features and objects of my invention willappear from the following description.

I will now describe the apparatus embody ing'my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will thereafter point out my invention in claims.

Figure 1 is a vertical central section of the end portions of an electric vapor-lamp having an inclined tube and provided with starting means. Fig. 2 is a similar view of an electric vapor-lamp having. avertical tube and provided with a starting'i'lev'ice of modified construction. r

The lampsshown are of the mercury-vapor type. *The tube a, is, as usual, of considerable length and contains a charge of mercury, whichrests in liquid form at the lower end of the tube. The electric current enters the tube Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February '7, 1904. Serial No. 191,544.

through platinum wires. I) and a, sealed into the tube, the lower leading-in wire centering the liquid mercury e at the bottom of the tube and the upper leading-in wire 7) entering the top of the ,tube and having a contact plate or Patented Sept. 12, 1905.:

enlargement (Z to increase its area of conducti e contact with the vapor.

\Vhen the lamp is 1n use, the glowing mercurywapor filling the tube conductively con-.

' meets the upper electrode (Z and the bod-yet: liquid mercury e, which forms the lower electrode; but when the electric current is shut off the greater part of this vapor condenses to liquid form, and the resistance between the electrodes becomes very great. It is therefore necessary in starting the lamp to in some manner lead the electric current across an intervening space in which the condition is very nearly that of a vacuum and which may be from two to live feet or more in length. According to my invention I project the liquid mercury upward through the tube, so as to conductivelylead the electric current from the lower to the upper electrode, and thereby to diminish or bridge the gap between the electrodes, sothat a closed circuit will be established through the lamp and the lighting operation will be effectively started. I providewithin the tube projecting means comprising a piston f, of iron or suitable'magnetic material, and having a et-orifice g and having a chamber formed within the piston and open at its lower end and closed at its upper end except at the-jet-orifice. The lower end of the lamp-tube a is of uniform reduced diameter to provide a cylinder for the piston f, and the piston fiiis provided with sealing grooves on its outer periphery. The piston is buoyantly sustained by the liquid mercury and is restrained as=to upward movement by a chain it, which isfsecured at its lower end to the lower platinum leading-in wire c,a loop being formed therein to engage the lower end link of the chain, and'is secured at its upper end to a cross-bar "2. near'the lower end of the piston f. a w

- The exterior power-developing means in the construction shown in Fig. 1 comprise a solenoid having coils of low resistance j and coils of highresistance Kathie solenoid fitting closely the exterior of the cylinder formed at the louuar end of. the lamp-tube, so that the piston'f is the core of the solenoid and is at.- tracted down ward: within the tube when the coils are energized. 1

no i

The low-resistance coils j are connected in ductor 2, which runs to thelower leading-in wire 0. The high-resistance coils are connected in another branch -circuithaving no circuitbreaker therein and flowing from the conductor 2 through wire 7, high-resistance coils it, andvwire 8 to the wire 5 of the conductors of the circuit of the low-resistance coils.

' When the electric current is turned on, the circuits both of the high-resistance coils and low-resistance coils are closed, and the solenoid powerfully attracts the piston-core f and pulls it downward in its cylinder in the tube,

.and the liquid mercury below and withinthe cylinder is forcibly projected upward through the jet-orifice 9 toward the upper end of the 'tube. The force of this projection may be -such as to carry the projected stream of mercury'into contact with the upper electrode d of' the lamp or in such proximity thereto as to effect a closure of the lamp-circuit. To

control the direction of this projected stream,

v Iprovide a deflecting-surface p in thc lower inclined inner wall of the tube, which will deflect the stream of liquid mercury upward to correct the. tendency to fall toward the lower wallof the inclined tube and also to spread the stream to cover a greater cross-sectional area of the tube. The circuit having been once closed a suificient vaporization of the mercury will be effected to establish and maintaina lighting-circuit through the lamp. The closure of the lighting-circuit will effect an energization of the circuit-opening electromagnet n, and this electromagnet will attract its armature m and open at the armature m and contact 0 the branch circuit of the lowresistance coils jof the solenoid; but the ourrent of the high-resistance coils A) will remain closed and will develop sufficient attractive.

force to hold the piston-core f down, so that its jet-orifice g will be immersed in and protected by theliquid mercury.

In the modified construction (shown in Fig.

' 2) the solenoid is replaced by an eiec-tromagnet 1 the'poles of which are located along the exterior surface of the lamp-tube in proximity to the piston f, which is here the armature of the electromagnet. The coils j of the electromagnet q are in a branch circuit flowing from the lamp-supplying conductor 2 throughwire 9, coils j, and Wire 10 to the other lamp-supplying conductor 6. This circuit remains closed, and the ele'ctromagnet q remains energized so long as the lamp is supplied withelectric current. Theoperation is here as above described, except that the lamptube is vertical and no deflecting-surface is provided within 'the tube.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the constructionsshown and above particularly described within the-spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1.. The combination, with a vapor electric lamp, of exteriorly-located electrically-com trolled power-developing means, auxiliary power-developing means, interiorlylocated projecting means controllable by the power means and the auxiliary power means, and means controllable by the circuit of thelamp for discontinuing the energization of. the power means but not of .the auxiliary power means by the establishment. of the lightingcircuit.

2. The combination, with a vapor electriclamp, of exteriorly-located coils of low resistance and high resistance, respectively, interiorly-located projecting means controllable by the coils of low and high resistance and means controllable by the circuit of the lainp for decnergizing the low-resistance coils by the establishment of the lighting-circuit.

3. The combination,'.wi'th a vapor electric lamp, of starting means for projecting a conductive liquid within the lam p. and a deflector for such liquid.

4. The combination, with a vapor electric lamp, of-exteriorly-located power-developing means, an interiorly-located liquid-projecting piston'having a jet-orifice and controllable by the exterior power means, and a deflector within the lamp in the path of theliquid projected by the piston.

5. The combination, with a vapor electric lamp having a sealed casing, of exteriorly-located power-developing means, an interiorlylocated liquid-projecting piston having a jetorifice and controllable by the exterior power means an buoyantly sustained in the liquid illuminant, and a flexible connection from the piston to the casing for limiting the buoyant movement of the piston.

6. The combinationfwith a vapor electric lamp,-of 'exteriorly-located power-developing means, and ari interiorly-located liquid-projecting hollow piston having a jet-orifice and an inner chamber of cross-sectional area considerabl y greater than the jet-orifice, such chamber opening upward into the jet-orifice and having a substantially unrestricted opening at its lower end.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLYDE J. COLEMAN. Witnesses:

EDWIN E. ZI'r'rnL, SIDNEY ARONSTEIN.. 

